Kennedy Krieger was pleased to sponsor our fourth annual Gary W. Goldstein Research Symposium and Trainee Poster Day on April 1, 2025. More than 200 attendees showed up to hear inspiring talks and explore 50+ poster presentations.
From bold ideas to breakthrough science, our Kennedy Krieger Institute trainees and faculty are leading the way in the future of care.
We look forward to next year’s event. More details to come in early 2026.
Below are this years’ winners:
Trainee Poster: Rini Varghese, PT, PhD
Adaptive Learning in An Unconstrained Bimanual Context Across Developing Children Aged 8-17 Years
Trainee Talk: Timothy Heck, MD
In-Vivo and Ex-Vivo Evidence of Glymphatic System Dysfunction in Post-Hemorrhagic Hydrocephalus of Prematurity
Innovation Grant Winners
Roma Vasa, MD
Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
“Exploring Ecological Momentary Assessment Methods to Evaluate Anxiety and Intolerance of Uncertainty in Autistic Adolescents”
Matthew Elrick, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Neurology
“Nuclear Pore Complex Dysfunction as a Pathogenic Mechanism and Therapeutic Target in Acute Flaccid Myelitis”
2025 Event Schedule
- 8:00 am - 8:20 am: Registration and Continental Breakfast
- 8:20 am - 8:30 am: Opening
- 8:30 am - 9:45 am: Poster Sessions (2)
- 9:45 am - 10:05 am: Break
- 10:05 am - 11:50 am: Session (Talks)
- 11:50 am - 12:15 pm: Lunch
- 12:15 pm - 1:00 pm: Keynote Speaker
- 1:00 pm - 1:30 pm: Goldstein Award Presentation
- 1:30 pm - 2:00 pm: Winners Announced and Closing
- 2:00 pm: Adjourn
Meet Our Keynote Speaker
Ryan Roemmich is the director of the Center for Movement Studies at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and an associate professor in the Department of Physical Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is also the Director of the Rehabilitation Precision Medicine Center of Excellence at Johns Hopkins Medicine. His research focuses on movement assessment and rehabilitation in persons with neurologic damage or disease, and his work has been funded by the NIH, American Heart Association, American Parkinson Disease Association, the Parkinson’s Foundation, the Association of Academic Physiatrists, the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center at Johns Hopkins University, the Artificial Intelligence Technology Collaboratory at Johns Hopkins University, and the Restore and Mobilize Centers at Stanford University.
Previous Event Highlights
2024
On April 16th, Kennedy Krieger held its first combined research-focused event, the Gary W. Goldstein Research Symposium and Trainee Poster Day. This event, dedicated to showcasing the remarkable work of Kennedy Krieger's trainees along with the groundbreaking projects led by our research faculty and staff, was well attended by leadership, staff, mentors, and trainees across the organization.
The day included:
- Rapid-fire talks by six trainees and five faculty/staff
- Poster presentations by over 28 trainees and 17 faculty/staff
- Keynote presentation by Douglas Robinson, PhD of Johns Hopkins on effective mentorship
- Goldstein Innovation Grant project highlight by 2020 awardee Luther Kalb, PhD
- Announcement of 2024 Goldstein Innovation Grant awardees, Guanshu Liu, PhD and Eric Chin, MD
- Over 170 attendees!
View the program to read more about the event's activities.
Congratulations to the following winners!
Goldstein Research Innovation Grant Awardees
- Eric Chin, MD: A randomized crossover trial of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain in adults with cerebral palsy: A biopsychosocial foundation for pain treatment trials
- Guanshu Liu, PhD, Co-PIs, Renyuan Bai, PhD and Verena Staedtke, MD PhD: Engineering EV-AAV for MRI-guided gene therapy of Neurofibromatosis Type 1
Trainee Rapid Fire Talk Winners
- Dawn Lammert MD PhD. Mentor, Joseph Scafidi DO MS: Neurotransmitter homeostasis and anapleurosis in neonatal brain injury
- Lukman Ismaila PhD. Mentor, Ann Choe PhD: Impact of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) level on Cortical Reorganization
Poster Presenter Winners
- Diogo Fortes BA – Best Advocacy Poster. Mentor, Mirian Ofonedu PhD, MSW, LCSW-C: Faith Community Learning Collaborative for Faith Leaders: an inclusive faith support ambassador program
- Alyssa DeRonda MS – Best Research Poster. Mentors, Keri Rosch PhD and Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus PhD: Unlocking the neural basis for reading fluency in neurodevelopmental disorders: The role of sensory integration and executive functions in reading fluency<
2023
Kennedy Krieger Institute held its second annual Gary W. Goldstein, MD, Research Symposium on June 8. This symposium honors the research vision and legacy of our former President and CEO by showcasing the breadth of cutting-edge research being done here today.
The second annual event had more than 100 attendees and 16 presentations.
The 2023 Gary W. Goldstein Research Innovation Fund awards were given to:
- Maya Opendak, PhD
- Title: A role for endocannabinoid signaling in social behaviordisruption following early adversity
- Adrian Svingos, PhD
- Title: Toward Precision Rehabilitation in Pediatric Concussion
The Trainee Rapid Fire Award went to:
- Chelsea Valery
- Title: Presymptomatic Treatment in Children with Sturge-Weber Syndrome
Trainee Poster Day
The LEND Program hosted Trainee Poster Day on April 4, 2023. Research results, clinical, community-bases and quality improvement project posters were presented.
There were two sessions and trainees presented posters, which were judged on the following themes:
- Maternal and child health, health disparities
- Neurodevelopmental and related disabilities
- Disability advocacy
There were more than 30 poster presented. For the full list, click below.
View Full List of Poster Presentations
The Trainee Award Went To:
- Regina Fernandez, PhD Postdoctoral fellow “Increased brain fatty acid oxidation after neonatal brain injury”
- Dylan Parodi, undergraduate research trainee “Children with autism show impairments in both spatial and temporal components of motor imitation”